# Is coin currency still in use anywhere in the world today?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-coin-currency-still-in-use-anywhere-in-the-world-today/210807>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [November 1, 2003, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-coin-currency-still-in-use-anywhere-in-the-world-today/210807 "2003-11-01T07:38:45Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\
**Post date:** [November 3, 2003, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-coin-currency-still-in-use-anywhere-in-the-world-today/210807/21 "2003-11-03T22:54:50Z")

</div>

> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by TheSundanceKid \*  
> \*\*Instead, I ask, has the modern system of paper money, having once been exchangeable for gold, and now backed by nothing but state fiat and the general consensus that this is a good way of doing things, completely replaced all other systems? \*\*

No, it’s just that the American dollar occupies the place formerly held by gold and silver. Many Third World countries, having been burned by the combination of weak, corrupt governments and fiat money, now define their currencies in terms of American dollars. If they print too much money, their citizens can exchange the local currency for dollars at a specified rate and (theoretically, at least) put a stop to the inflation.

This is exactly how the gold standard used to work. Of course, this system depends on the competence of the American Federal Reserve Board of Governors, but over the last two decades they’ve earned that trust, as the dollar has been relatively stable. (Or at least _predictably_ unstable, inflating by 1-2% per year.) The gold standard wasn’t perfect, either–it depended on how much gold miners happened to mine, and there were times when commerce outran gold production (deflation) and other times when gold production outran commerce (inflation).

The “dollar standard” and the gold standard both have one flaw–in times of stress, when the standard is most necessary, governments have a tendency to abandon it. As, for example, Argentina recently did, with lamentable consequences.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\
**Post date:** [November 4, 2003, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-coin-currency-still-in-use-anywhere-in-the-world-today/210807/22 "2003-11-04T00:35:48Z")

</div>

Posted by **jklann:**

> [@](#):
>
> The “dollar standard” and the gold standard both have one flaw–in times of stress, when the standard is most necessary, governments have a tendency to abandon it. As, for example, Argentina recently did, with lamentable consequences.

Is there any currency standard which does **not** have this flaw?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\
**Post date:** [November 4, 2003, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-coin-currency-still-in-use-anywhere-in-the-world-today/210807/23 "2003-11-04T00:54:45Z")

</div>

Not really. To paraphrase an old saw about banking, the only time an exogenous monetary standard works is when you don’t need it.

[Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-coin-currency-still-in-use-anywhere-in-the-world-today/210807.md?page=1)